The Islington and Camden Arts Award Local Area Network (ICALAN) is a partnership between the Islington Arts Education Strategic Advisory Group (AESAG), Islington Council, and Camden Spark.

ICALAN will build on the learning from the Shared Arts Award Offer in Islington and Camden (2013-15) to develop understanding amongst arts organisations, education and youth activity providers of the existing barriers to Arts Award engagement and how to work together best to overcome those barriers.

Islington Council facilitates AESAG, which brings together the leading arts and cultural education providers active in Islington to provide strategic focus to arts engagement for children and young people in the borough. Camden Spark was conceived by Camden Council and The Roundhouse to support all schools in Camden to access the best possible arts and cultural opportunities for their children and young people. Together, Islington Council, AESAG and Camden Spark have extensive partnership relationships with arts organisations, education and youth providers across the two boroughs which will facilitate opportunities for joint learning and the exchange of good practice from a variety of perspectives.

We will be facilitating a series of roundtable meetings over the next months. Following this, models of good practice will be shared by Arts Award Champions in an Advocacy Session, to which all arts education providers, education settings and youth activity providers in Camden and Islington will be invited, as well as online and through other networks.

Please get in touch with Hannah@camdenspark.com if you would like to get involved, or would like more information.